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Tag Archive for Rasham Ha’amutot

In mid-October of this year, Israel’s Registrar of Charities issued “10 Golden Rules for Donors” (Hebrew). While the document is meant as a guideline for individuals, it holds immense value for the Israel’s charities, as well.

Below are The 10 Golden Rules (in English) and its implications for nonprofits operating in Israel.

As was mentioned in my previous post, Israel’s OFFLINE Overhaul of its Nonprofit Sector (Guidestar Conference, Part 1), the June 26th Conference Organized by Guidestar Israel tantalized the attendants with many planned improvements within the government offices tasked with overseeing Isael’s nonprofit sector.

Even more monumental, though, are the changes that are taking place online. Here we are seeing not just an upgrade in software, but in approach and analysis whose rippling effect will be felt far beyond Israel’s shores.

In the global nonprofit sector there is much talk of cooperation and the need to combine forces to increase efficiency and cut costs, yet this synergy is hard to find. Guidestar Israel, in contrast, is actually doing it. Local charities, international organizations, private funds and government resources have all cooperated to bring the Guidestar Israel project into fruition. (And yes, it took over six years for the parties agree and get things off the ground, but we’ll choose not to focus on that for right now.)

Like many conferences, there was the good and the less good, but for those paid attention, there was also the surprising — announcements foretelling actual progress.

After years of rumors, here-say, and unwritten code that outlawed the use of credit cards by Israeli nonprofit organizations, the newest version of the Nihul Takin [Certificate of Proper Management] from Israel’s Rasham Ha’amutot [Registrar of Charities] clearly permits the use of credit cards by Israeli charities…kind of.

Unfortunately, vague unwritten guidelines have now been replaced by confusing and unrealistic written rules. Progress?

So should your amutah [Israeli Charity] use a credit card? As no two charities are the same, that answer is best left to your organization’s board, accountant, and/or lawyer.

What I can do, however, is share the research I have done and practices I have witnessed from countless nonprofits, which will hopefully save your organization precious time.

Since early January of this year, the topic of Funding from Foreign Governments to Israeli NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organization) has been making headlines. Two initiatives promoting Transparency though in very different contexts — a proposal put forth in January and a bill approved in February — have politicians, nonprofits, and European Governments lamenting the destruction of democracy and human-rights in Israel.

However, the pursuant rhetoric, innuendos, politicking, and here-say makes it near impossible to filter out fact from fiction and to distinguish these two very different initiatives.

The phone number is clearly listed on its site, yet no one answers when I call.

It is a complaint I have heard from Israeli nonprofits and one that I recently verified — repeatedly. So the question remains, how can someone get in touch with Israel’s Registrar of Charities [Rasham Ha'amutot]?

Zavit Shalosh relates that the Rasham Ha’amutot [Israel's Registrar of Charities] released an updated version of the Nihul Takin on the Rasham’s website. Furthermore, the Rasham has invited all interested parties to email comments until September 30th.

But, alas, in Israel the answer is no…kind of. Cryptic, but true. That is to say that in my experience as a banker, I have both ordered credit cards for charities that wanted them and canceled credit cards for charities that were told it was “illegal” to have them.

I’ve Moved!

After 9 years in banking, I have decided it was time for my next challenge and have opened my own company that offers outsourced CFO services to local & international nonprofits and small businesses operating in Israel.

Visit my new site to discover how your organization can increase its efficiency and relieve stress by outsourcing critical financial tasks – either on an ongoing or per-project basis: Fogel CFO & Management Services